Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 4, 2025

Author Spotlight: Advancements in Molecular Biomarker Testing for Non-Squamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Published on: September 8, 2023
Molecular oncology: what is needed to speed access to innovative therapies in clinical research?
Karim Gourari1, Ahmad Awada, Nuria Kotecki
1Oncology Medicine Department, Jules Bordet Institut, Anderlecht, Belgium.
Purpose Of Review:
A better understanding of the biology of cancer cells has led in the past 20 years to more and more molecular and immunological driven treatment strategies impacting both clinical trials and day-to-day practice. The aim of this review is to describe new approaches to conduct clinical trials in this area to speed up drug development and increase access to innovation for cancer patients.
Recent Findings:
The design of an early phase trial has an impact on its clinical benefit. Trials deriving from a specific biomarker or histologic characteristic (also known as enrichment design) are more likely to demonstrate benefit than trials based on a more conventional design. However, the increase of low incidence cancer molecular subtypes poses a major hurdle in the clinical management and drug development research for cancer patients.
Summary:
With the identification of news targets and the subsequent introduction of precision medicine, new strategies and tools are needed to provide access to biomarker identification and target-oriented clinical trials to all cancer patients. We propose to set up a new patient-centered model to conduct clinical trials allowing simply to 'bring the trial to the patient'.
Insights
New clinical trial designs are needed to accelerate cancer drug development. A patient-centered model aims to improve access to innovative, biomarker-driven treatments for all cancer patients.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Clinical Trial Design
- Precision Medicine
Background:
- Advances in cancer biology have driven molecular and immunological treatments.
- Biomarker-driven and enrichment designs enhance clinical trial benefits.
- Increasing molecular subtypes of rare cancers present challenges for drug development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review novel approaches for conducting cancer clinical trials.
- To expedite cancer drug development and enhance patient access to innovation.
Main Methods:
- Focus on enrichment trial designs based on specific biomarkers or histology.
- Proposing a new patient-centered model for clinical trial conduct.
Main Results:
- Enrichment designs show greater potential for demonstrating clinical benefit.
- A patient-centered model aims to overcome hurdles in rare cancer subtypes.
Conclusions:
- Innovative strategies are essential for biomarker identification and targeted trials.
- The proposed model seeks to 'bring the trial to the patient' for broader access.
More Related Videos
08:46Implementation of In Vitro Drug Resistance Assays: Maximizing the Potential for Uncovering Clinically Relevant Resistance Mechanisms
Published on: December 9, 2015
13:24Integration of Wet and Dry Bench Processes Optimizes Targeted Next-generation Sequencing of Low-quality and Low-quantity Tumor Biopsies
Published on: April 11, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Targeted Cancer Therapies
There are several types of targeted therapies against...
Treatment Resistant Cancers
Combination Therapies and Personalized Medicine
The combination of the drug acetazolamide and sulforaphane is a good example of combination therapy to treat cancer. The cells in the interior of a large tumor often die due to the hypoxic and...
Clinical Trials: Overview
Preclinical Development: Overview
Clinical Trials
There are four phases in a clinical trial. A phase one...